Update July 24, 9.40 am UTC: This article has been updated to quote Lennix Lai from OKX.

The United States Securities Exchange and Securities Commission (SEC) has approved the VanEck Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF), marking a huge milestone for the market.

The Notice of Effectiveness of the ETF was filed on July 22 and aims to provide investors with a regulated means of gaining exposure to Ether ( ETH ) in the US.

The approval follows a series of filing and amendments submitted to the SEC, reflecting a long period of regulatory scrutiny.

Speaking with Cointelegraph, Lennix Lai, the global chief commercial officer at the crypto exchange OKX, explained that the approval “shows that the SEC doesn’t define ETH as a security.”

"This has a significant implication to the classification  proof-of-stake (PoS) tokens in the market. This could have cleared many regulatory roadblocks, uncertainty and risks for businesses working with PoS tokens, and even paved the way for the ETFs of other PoS tokens.”

Related: Grayscale’s spot Ether ETFs launch on New York Stock Exchange

The approval and key filings

VanEck began pushing for a spot Ether ETF with its initial registration filing on May 7, 2021, with prolonged efforts and delays to meet the regulatory standards required for its approval.

Essential filings in the lead-up to the approval include the Prospectus under Rule 424(b)(3) and multiple amendments to the  Form S-1 as the firm adjusted to SEC compliance requirements.

The SEC requires S-1s for companies planning their first public securities offering, while the Rule 424(b)(3) prospectus provides final offering details after the S-1 is effective.

Source: VanEck

Related: Grayscale transfers $1B in ETH to Coinbase ahead of Ether ETF launch

S-1 amendments

In July 8 filings, VanEck amended its S-1 registration with the SEC to secure the listing and trading of spot ETF shares.

As the last stage in the SEC ETF approval process, the crypto investments firm 21Shares also made amendments to receive final approval from the SEC.

Both firms’ filings did not include launch dates for US exchanges but indicated that the Ethereum ETFs would be launched as soon as practicably possible “after the effective date.”

Related: Ethereum price will be ‘sensitive’ to ETF inflows in the coming days — Kaiko

Grayscale spot Ether ETF launches on NYSE

Amid the SEC’s Ether ETF approvals, digital asset manager Grayscale confirmed that its two spot Ether ETFs officially began trading on July 23 on the NYSE Arca.

The launch of the Grayscale ETFs  follows the SEC’s decision to sign off on the final approval on July 22, allowing several issuers to launch their products for trading.

On July 22, Grayscale transferred over $1 billion worth of ETH to Coinbase in preparation for the launch of its ETFs, moving 292,263 ETH,  according to its Ethereum Mini Trust July 18 filing.

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